Daredevil lands a silver
TOOWOOMBA-born daredevil Chris Byrnes placed second at the 2019 Wingsuit World Cup.
Held in Ravenna, Italy, the cup required wingsuit pilots to jump from a aircraft and complete set tasks at specific points of their descent.
They include regulating their speed and travelling the greatest horizontal distance.
Pilots are penalised if they veer out of a designated flight path or landing zone. Mr Byrnes narrowly lost to Russian pilot Dmitry Podoryashy.
“I am stoked to finish in second place at the Wingsuit World Cup,” Mr Byrnes said. “I had fun and learned a lot. “I am looking forward to the World Championships in Russia next year.”
Mr Byrnes had a near perfect run and was neck and neck with Mr Podoryashy though the competition, but a 10 per cent penalty in the final round sealed his second place.
The silver medal follows a bronze at the World BASE
Race in July.
Between the World BASE Race and the Wingsuit World Cup, My Byrnes had planned to break three world records in a jump of the peak of the Eiger, in Switzerland, on August 3.
He planned to fly the furthest distance, at the greatest speed and follow it with the largest flare up.
Unfortunately, poor weather conditions forced Mr Byrnes to call off the jump.
“It was too windy,” he said. “I am considering returning to Switzerland in September or October for another try.”
The 31-year-old Toowoomba man is a professional wingsuit BASE jumper, and for six years he has travelled the world leaping from cliffs and out of aircraft. He is a two-time Wingsuit BASE World Champion and holds the record as the fastest human alive, hurtling more than 300km/h using self-powered flight.
“I enjoy pushing the boundaries of human flight and the human experience as I fly faster than ever before,” he said.